Going into Monday night’s semifinals, Rademacher said he knew that he was the underdog. Although he earned his highest score of the season — 27 out of a possible 30 points — for his second routine, it wasn’t enough. Three of his four fellow competitors earned perfect scores, and Rademacher ended up at the bottom of the leaderboard.

Rademacher hugged his pro partner, Kym Johnson, when he learned his fate during tonight’s results show.

He told co-host Brooke Burke that being on the show had been an amazing experience.

“I thought I was going to be done after, like, two weeks … but Kym has choreographed the most amazing routines and she catered them towards my two left feet and it got us this far, so I’ve really got to say, it’s been an amazing experience,” he said.

He and Disney star Zendaya were both in the danger of elimination, which is based on judges’ scores and viewers’ votes. The star with the lowest overall total is the one sent home.

In addition to Zendaya, the three other stars who will compete next week for the championship and the mirrorball trophy are Baltimore Ravens’ wide receiver Jacoby Jones, country music star Kellie Pickler and and Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman.